Apparatus for paper sacks manufacture

ABSTRACT

A system of multiple conveyor belts designed to maintain a balance between the output of a tube-forming machine and a bottom-folding machine used in the manufacture of paper, plastic or similar sacks, in which an assemblage of conveyor belts having sufficient capacity for the piles of tubes produced by the tubeformer acts as a magazine upon which the bottom-folder draws as required. Pivoting conveyor belts, directed by suitable monitoring devices, maintain a steady flow into and out of the magazine.

United States Patent Inventor Herbert Richter Beckum, Germany Appl. No.754,247 Filed Aug. 21, 1968 Patented May 25, 1971 Assignee Windmoller &Holscher Lengerich, Germany Priority Aug. 28, 1967 Germany B60025APPARATUS FOR PAPER SACKS MANUFACTURE 5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 93/8,

198/31, 198/32, 198/205 Int. Cl B3lb l/00 Field ofSearch 93/22, 23,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,959,662 5/1934 Ellis198/20 2,053,263 9/1936 Coty et a]. 93/22X 3,373,664 3/1968 Brockmuller198/31X Primary Examiner-Remard Stickney Attorney-Holman and SternABSTRACT: A system of multiple conveyor belts designed to maintain abalance between the output of a tube-forming machine and abottom-folding machine used in the manufacture of paper, plastic orsimilar sacks, in which an assemblage of conveyor belts havingsufficient capacity for the piles of tubes produced by the tube-formeracts as a magazine upon which the bottom-folder draws as required.Pivoting conveyor belts, directed by suitable monitoring devices,maintain a steady flow into and out of the magazine.

PATENTEU M25197:

SHEET 2 [IF 2 INVENTOR HERBERT RICHTER APPARATUS FOR PAPER SACKSMANUFACTURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates toapparatus for the production of sacks made of paper, plastic or thelike, with a tube fonner and at least one bottom-folder and a conveyorarrangement carrying the tube sections in the form in piles to thebottomfolder.

In a known device of this kind, tube section piles are fed alternatelyto two continuously moving conveyor arrangement, each of which leads toa laying position of the bottom-folder. Therein it has also beenproposed to extend the conveyor arrangements in order thereby to achievea stretch on which the gluing points on the sacks can dry. This entailsan extension of the manufacturing plant with demands on valuable space.Since the length of such a drying stretch cannot be expanded at will,there is also only a certain time for the drying available which, in maycases, can be too short. The tube-forming machine and bottom-folder are,moreover, directly linked to one another so that their working rhythmsmust be attuned to one another.

It has also been proposed to transfer tube section piles to pallets orthe like which are introduced into the laying on positions or thebottom-folding machines or conveyed to transit stores, from which theycan be brought to thebottom-folding machine as necessary. This methodhas the disadvantage of interrupting the production line and furthermoreit involves the necessity of a movement of separate pallets.

It is an object of the invention to overcome or reduce existingdisadvantages and to form a multiple conveyor belt apparatus for sackmaking in such a way that, in thepresence of a continuous productionline, there is wide independence in the method of working of thetube-former and of the bottomfolder, that there is the least possiblerequirement for space, and that a long time-interval between the tubeformation and the folding of the bottom may be attained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention consists in an apparatusfor the production of sacks made of paper, plastic or the like with atube-former and at least one bottom-folder and a conveyor arrangementwhich carries part completed sacks in the form of piles to abottom-folder, in which the conveyor arrangement contains a magazine forthe piles, the magazine consisting of endless conveyor member arrangedabove and/or alongside one another, the number of which member isgreater than the number of the laying on positions of the bottom-folder.

In this way there is provided, with all the advantages of continuousproduction, means whereby the procedure can be fully mechanized or takeplace automatically, and the storage of a large number of tube sectionpiles with relatively little space requirement can be carried outsimultaneously. This carries the advantages that, first of all, the tubeformer and the bottom-folder or folders can work largely independentlyof one another and that further long time intervals are available. asmay be desirable or necessary for the drying of glued points.

There may be arranged, in front of the conveyor member forming themagazine at least one pivotable feed-belt and/or behind the conveyormembers at least one pivotable collecting belt. The expression belt alsoincludes here and at other places in this description a belt system orone or more other endless conveyor member's. By the pivoting movement, asimple and rapid adjustment of the feed-belt or collecting belt into thecorrect position for working in conjunction with a conveyor member ofthe magazine is possible.

Advantageously, there is provided in each case above the feed-belt, apressure belt which exerts a pressure on the tube section piles andtherefore contributes to the bringing about of a firm connection at theglued points of the tube sections. At the same time, such a pressurebelt holds the tube section piles in their position. Belts exerting apressure can also be arranged according to the invention above theconveyor members of the magazine and possibly also above the collectingbelts if this appears desirable.

' There may be provided at the transit pointsbetween feedbelt andmagazine conveyor member and/or between the latter and a collecting beltmeshing groups of belts having a distance from one another in thetransverse direction. In this it may refer to particular belts or'tocorresponding formations of the feed-belt, of the collecting belt and fof the magazine conveyor belts themselves. By this means, the tubesection piles are supported and held in a particularly favorable way.

A convenient embodiment according to the invention consists further inthe fact that at each conveyor member of the magazine is provided atleast one sensing arrangement comprehending the occupation statethereto. The sensing arrangement can, for example, possess afeelerformed flexibly or as a pendulum which with an empty conveyormember takes up a first position and with an occupied conveyor member asecond position, in which it is deflected by the tube section pile by adefinite amount with respect to the first position. Insteadof a feelermay also be provided advantageously a noncontact scanning, perhaps bymean of a light barrier.

By means of such sensing arrangement, the occupation position of theindividual conveyor members of the magazine can benotified to a signalpanel by means of lamps or indicators.

The invention further provides that the movement of the conveyor membersof the magazine is controllable by means of the sensing arrangements.Thus, in particular, a signal can be given for the automatic stopping ofthe conveyor member when the foremost of the tube section pilesdeposited on the conveyor member arrives within the range of a feeler ofa light barrier or the like arranged in the vicinity of the deliver endof the conveyor member.

The pivoting movement of a feed-belt and/or of a collecting belt may becontrollable by'means of the sensing devices associated with theconveyor members. In this, the embodiment can in particular be such thatsimultaneously with the stopping of the conveyor member initiated by thesensing arrangement, the pivoting drive of the feed-belt is activated inorder to move it to the nearest free conveyor member. By making contactby means of a limit switch of the like, the pivoting movement of thefeed-belt can be ended automatically and the drive of the conveyormember now tobe occupied activated. This is correspondingly valid forthe collecting belt or belts so that by simple means an automaticoperation is possible.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings which illustrate the invention but in no restrictive sense.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of thedevice according to the invention seen in part from the sideschematically;

FIG. 2 is a plan view at the end of a conveyor member; FIG. 3illustrates the particular formation of a transit point in plan view;and i FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic side elevation in relation to FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The device represented in FIG. 1is arranged between a known tube-forming machine (not shown) and abottom-folding machine (likewise not specifically reproduced) so thatthere results in such a continuous production assembly. The tubesections produced in the tube-fonner are laid upon one another in eachcase in a definite number in piles. In the embodiment according to FIG.1, these tube section piles are placed on two conveyor belts la, lb. Theloading of these two conveyor belts takes place in a known way by meansof a switch point or the like.

'With each conveyor belt la and lb is associated, pivotable in thedirection of the arrow, a feed-belt 2a and 2b leading to a magazinesection of the device designated overall by M. The

' magazine section M attached thereto consists of anumber of with thefeed-belts 3a to 6a is associated a pivotable collecting belt 7a andwith the conveyor belts 3b to 6b a pivotable collecting belt 7b. Thelatter lead to two conveyor belts 8a, 8b and consequently to two layingon positions of the bottomfolder (not itself shown). Over each feed-belt2a, 2b is arranged a pressure belt 9a, 9b, by means of which a pressurecan be exerted on the tube section piles.

The feed-belts 2a, 2b and the collecting belts 7a, 7b are mounted ineach case at their ends turned away from the magazine section M and inother ways held in such a way that they can be pivoted in four positionswith respect to the four conveyor belts associated therewith in eachcase. By the broken lines in FIG. 1 is indicated in each case a furtherone of these positions. The pivoting movement can take place, forexample, by means of hydraulic cylinders, by an electric motor through ageared drive or with other suitable means. The mountings of the beltsare formed correspondingly. They can be connected directly with thedrive elements or through intermediate members. Thus, for example, therecan be an adjustable support or else suspension by mean of tensioningmembers.

In the position of the individual parts of the device represented inFIG. 1, tube-section piles P are fed by means of the two feed-belts 2a,2b to the uppermost conveyor belt 3a, 3b of the two groups of themagazine section M, while the collecting belts 7a, 7b take thetube-section piles from the conveyor belts 5a, .5b and feed them to thelaying on positions of the bottom-folder. Up to this time, the conveyorbelts 4a, 4b are empty.

With each of the conveyor belts is associated a light barrier L (cf.also FIG. 2) which is arranged in the vicinity of laying on delivery endin the path of the tube-section piles and provides evidence whether theconveyor belt is occupied at this point or not. Advantageously, such alight barrier attaches to a control for the automatic progress of thelaying-on and removal processes. The control can be constructed by theuse of elements and circuits known per se so that it operates asfollows.

If the conveyor belt 3a in FIG. 1 is fully occupied, then the lightbarrier L responds. By this means, a signal is given for stopping thedrive of the conveyor belt 311, a signal fo'r'pivoting the feed-belt 2ain the position facing the empty conveyor belt 40 and a signal to startthis last named conveyor belt 4a. This. process repeats itselfcorrespondingly in each case, whereby finally, after the occupation ofthe lowest conveyor belt 6a of this group, the feed-belt 2a is againpivoted upwards to the uppermost conveyor belt 30. The whole process maybe programmed or take place by means of sequence control.

The course of the collecting processes takes place similarly. If, forexample, in the represented position of the parts, the last tube sectionpile present on the conveyor belt 5a has been taken over from thecollecting belt 7a, then, by the response of the relative lightbarriers, signals are given for stopping the conveyor belt 5a for thedownward pivoting of the collecting belt 7a as far as the conveyor belt6a and for setting in motion this conveyor belt 6a.

This applies correspondingly for the lower group of conveyor belts 3b to6b with the feed-belt 2b and the collecting belt 7b.

with belts 13 of a group of belts preconnected in each case to aconveyor belt 14. By means of the meshing of the two groups of belts, adefinite overlapping in the longitudinal direction is achieved which isparticularly favorable for the support of the tube-section piles and forthe transfer process.

In this case, the invention also includes the possibility to give to thebelts 13, perhaps independence on the response of a light barrier of thekind shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an increased speed for a short time inorder thereby to withdraw the last tube-section pile to be transferredmore quickly from the belts 12. It may also be of advantage occasionallyto form the mounting of the belts 13 or a part thereof pivotably sothat, for example, the last tube-section pile to be transferred can belifted from the. forward moving belts. This process may then becontrolled likewise depending on the state of occupation of the relativebelt.

On mounting or frame parts 15 and 16 of the feed-belt 11 coming to restopposite one another and the conveyor belt 14, switching elements areprovided, for example, a limit switch 18 on the one and an actuating cam17 on the other part,

which can serve for ending the pivoting movement of the feedbelt 11 inthe desired position, to place the conveyor belt 14 in motion or tostart other processes.

In addition to the superposed arrangement of magazine conveyor belts, analongside arrangement of such belts is also possible, wherein then, forexample, pivotable feed and col-' lecting belts can be present in thehorizontal plane.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for the production of sacks having a tubeformer, atleast one bottom-folder provided with a number or feeding stations and aconveyor arrangement interposed between the tube-fonner and thebottom-folder for conveying piles of tube sections delivered by thetube-former to the bottom-folder, said conveyor arrangement including amagazine having an entrance end and an exit end, said being adapted tostore the piles and comprising a plurality of storing conveyors, thenumber of which is greater than the number of feeding stations of thebottom-folder, each of said storing conveyors being provided withsensing means determining the occupation situation of the storingconveyors, at least one feed-in conveyor arranged at the entrance end ofthe magazine and pivotable so as to selectively cooperate with one ofthe storing conveyors in dependence on the occupation situation thereof,and at least one feed-off conveyor arranged at the exit end of themagazine and pivotable so as to selectively cooperate with one of thestoring conveyors in dependence on the occupation situation thereof.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that associatedwith the or each feed-in conveyor is a pressure belt.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said storing conveyorsand said feed-in and feed-off conveyors provide endless belts and'inwhich at the transfer positions between said feed-in conveyors and saidstoring conveyors and/or between the latter and, said feed-off conveyorsmeshing groups of said belts are provided distanced from one another inthe transverse direction.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that themovement of the storing conveyors is controllable by means of thesensing means.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that thepivoting movement of said feed-in conveyor and/or of said feed-offconveyor isle by means of the sensing means as- FIGS. 3 and 4 show anembodiment in which a feed-belt ll sociated with the storing conveyors.

1. In an apparatus for the production of sacks having a tubeformer, atleast one bottom-folder provided with a number or feeding stations and aconveyor arrangement interposed between the tube-former and thebottom-folder for conveying piles of tube sections delivered by thetube-former to the bottom-folder, said conveyor arrangement including amagazine having an entrance end and an exit end, said being adapted tostore the piles and comprising a plurality of storing conveyors, thenumber of which is greater than the number of feeding stations of thebottomfolder, each of said storing conveyors being provided with sensingmeans determining the occupation situation of the storing conveyors, atleast one feed-in conveyor arranged at the entrance end of the magazineand pivotable so as to selectively cooperate with one of the storingconveyors in dependence on the occupation situation thereof, and atleast one feed-off conveyor arranged at the exit end of the magazine andpivotable so as to selectively cooperate with one of the storingconveyors in dependence on the occupation situation thereof.
 2. Theapparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that associated withthe or each feed-in conveyor is a pressure belt.
 3. The apparatusaccording to claim 1 in which said storing conveyors and said fEed-inand feed-off conveyors provide endless belts and in which at thetransfer positions between said feed-in conveyors and said storingconveyors and/or between the latter and, said feed-off conveyors meshinggroups of said belts are provided distanced from one another in thetransverse direction.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1,characterized in that the movement of the storing conveyors iscontrollable by means of the sensing means.
 5. The apparatus accordingto claim 1, characterized in that the pivoting movement of said feed-inconveyor and/or of said feed-off conveyor isle by means of the sensingmeans associated with the storing conveyors.